Monday Apple Rumors: 5M iPhone 5’s Sold in Three Days

by Christopher Freeburn | September 24, 2012 2:32 pm

Monday Apple Rumors: 5M iPhone 5’s Sold in Three Days

[1]Here are your Apple rumors[2] and AAPL news items for today:

Three Day Miss?: Over the weekend, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL[3]) sold five million iPhone 5’s[4], Reuters noted. The next generation iPhone went on sale at stores on Friday and sold one million more units than the iPhone 4S did last year. Still, some analysts were disappointed by the sales numbers and Apple shares moved down more than 1% in Monday afternoon trading. Speculation about iPhone 5 sales reached a feverish pitch in the last few months, with some analysts predicting sales of up to 10 million iPhone 5’s over last weekend. A number of analysts cited concerns that supply issues with iPhone 5 components would limit supplies of the new phone and ultimately dampen sales. One analyst noted that Wall Street set expectations for Apple so high it was hard to beat them.

Factory Fight: Foxconn, Apple’s primary Chinese manufacturer, had to close a plant in northern China for a day after a riot caused damage to the facility[5], CNET noted. As many as 2,000 workers may have been involved in the fracas, which started as a personal dispute between two workers, according to some reports. Foxconn announced that several people had been injured in the incident and an unspecified number had been arrested by local police. However, other accounts say the fight began when a factory guard hit a worker. Photos posted online appeared to show broken glass from shattered windows and police in riot-gear. Foxconn has been repeatedly criticized for working conditions at its Chinese factories, but had reportedly been making strides in improving worker safety recently.

Looking for Map Talent: With many iOS 6 users complaining about mistakes and glitches in its new in-house Maps app, Apple is attempting to poach experts[6] from Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOG[7]) map development team, TechCrunch notes. Apple is offering big salaries and promoting a move to its Cupertino, California, headquarters as an opportunity to launch a brand new product, not just update a platform. Recruiters for Apple are targeting Google team members who may not be happy with Google’s new concentration on indoor maps. Last week, Apple responded to consumer complaints about the new Maps app, saying it was a new product and would get better the more people used it.

For more about the company, check out our previous Apple Rumors[8] stories.